Soon after, just as several stone-throwing birds had taken off with the explosive fire stones, suddenly a few stone serpents surged up from below, ramming into them and sending them flying, while the explosive fire stones they clutched beneath their talons dropped and detonated, wreaking havoc upon the allied forces of the five great families, killing and injuring countless in an instant.

Seeing this, the stone-throwing birds that were behind immediately turned back, flying away to avoid those stone serpents lunging from below.

One of the stone serpents relentlessly pursued three stone-throwing birds. If Ye Yuqiao hadn't arrived in time to intervene, using the blood of the Netherworld Azure Birds to incinerate this stone serpent, another explosive fire stone would have dropped and exploded amongst our own soldiers below.

Thereafter, Ye Yuqiao hastened the pace of clearing out the stone serpents. Seeing Ye Yuqiao, the stone serpents were terrified and scattered in all directions, burrowing into the earth and sky, and still, they didn't forget to use their massive hardened bodies to charge at the distant aerial soldiers and those on the ground below.

It can be said that the Ghost King Battalion had achieved great effect with these dozen or so stone serpents, having utterly disrupted the formation of the allied forces of the five great families and causing the cavalry that had charged ahead to lose cohesion with the infantry and archers below.

Fortunately, while the stone serpents were busy dodging Ye Yuqiao, some of the stone-throwing birds succeeded in carrying the explosive fire stones towards the front, then dropping them onto the knights of the Ghost King Battalion who were leading the charge.

For the stone-throwing birds, the Ghost King Battalion still had no better strategy. The Crow Tribe warriors standing in the air threw their curved blades at the birds, failing to inflict any damage on them, but instead scattering in panic due to the explosive fire stones dropped by the stone-throwing birds.

After a while, the cavalry of both camps finally clashed in combat.

On the Ghost King Battalion's side, the Crow Tribe warriors once again turned into crows, descending to support the battalion's cavalry; meanwhile, the archers of the five great families also moved in, assisting their comrades in battle with their precise archery.

Zhou Ke then turned to those behind him and commanded, "Ground Assault Troops, burrow and strike inside the enemy's rear lines!"

"Yes, sir!"

Instantly, a great number of soldiers disappeared into the ground. Moments later, they suddenly emerged among the Ghost King Battalion's cavalry and infantry, splitting into two groups and swiftly brandishing their blades for a rear assault on the battalion's charging cavalry and the infantry facing them in battle, effectively isolating the battalion's first and second lines.

In total, sixteen hundred thousand soldiers of both camps began fighting fiercely, plunging this war into its most savage stage.

Due to the earlier disruption and attacks by the stone serpents, the allied forces of the five great families were already at a disadvantage. Had it not been for proper command in the chaos, with the soldiers facing danger yet obediently carrying out orders, the disadvantage could have been much greater.

At this time, only six stone serpents remained, thanks to Ye Yuqiao's efforts, as they burrowed into the ground and fled, appearing in the midst of where the fighting was fiercest to use their enormous and hardened bodies to aid the soldiers of the Ghost King Battalion.

At this point, the stone-throwing birds also ceased their bombardment with explosive fire stones, joining the melee primarily to help the allied warriors handle the stone serpents.

Under the cover of night, firelight was everywhere; flesh and blood were flung around; the air was filled with unceasing wails of agony; the sky was filled with particles of Primordial Spirits and Primordial Souls rising from those who had perished.

Below a scene reminiscent of a sparkling starry sky, unfolded such a horrific spectacle.

After more than ten thousand years, the Netherworld had once again become the stage for a war on such a grand scale.

Whether this war will be defined in history as epic or a tale of tears, it will be more than enough to secure a place in the annals of the Netherworld.

In the tumult, Ye Yuqiao's heart remained eerily calm. She looked up to the sky, gazing upon the five Clan Leaders and the four Dharma Kings. Zhao Chong once again faced the Dark Law King without surprise; Zhou Ke's opponent was King Shuanglin; the somewhat elderly Zheng Yang and Wang Yun joined forces to contend with King Wumeng; Wu Kun faced off against King Qingyu.

To avoid harming their own nearby soldiers, these nine most prominent figures from both camps soared into the high skies to duel.

Aside from Zhao Chong and the Dark Law King, who were evenly matched, the rest of the Clan Leaders were at a disadvantage in their confrontations. Among them, Zhou Ke, who was battling King Shuanglin, struggled the most.

Although both were Clan Leaders of influential families and similar in age, the difference in strength between Zhou Ke and Zhao Chong was exceedingly great. When Zhao Chong earned his reputation and was declared the God of War, Zhou Ke was still a frivolous young master who lacked ambition.

Facing the freezing power of King Shuanglin, Zhou Ke seemed to have no better strategy, and thus, he was constantly evading.

Seeing this, a cold light flashed in Ye Yuqiao's eyes, her face filled with murderous intent as she moved closer to King Shuanglin.

At this moment, King Shuanglin had trapped Zhou Ke within ice, frozen and confined.

..

..

"Chen Hao, Chen Hao!"

Upon hearing his name being called, Chen Hao slowly opened his eyes.

This was an unusual world.

Within the gray and dull sky, it seemed as if countless golden lights were twinkling. Upon closer inspection, Chen Hao realized they were countless dust particles floating in the air, forming unique clusters of clouds.

"Chen Hao, Chen Hao!"

At that moment, the calling resumed, and Chen Hao recognized it to be Lin Huashan's voice.

Then, the scene of him engaging in combat with King Nanlin at the Huiyin Mountains flashed through his mind. He remembered using the Yin Spirit Solidifying Blood Technique to freeze King Nanlin's blood and Spiritual Power, followed by falling into a hot spring with King Nanlin. Afterward, the seal beneath the hot spring opened, sucking both him and King Nanlin inside.

The moment he entered the seal, he faintly recalled that King Nanlin seemed to have broken through his Yin Spirit Solidifying Blood Technique, and then they were separated by an invisible force.

He closed his left eye; the Nether King's Heart was still there.

"Huashan, I'm here!" Chen Hao called back loudly.

"Chen Hao!" Lin Huashan's voice was filled with excitement.

Shortly after, Chen Hao saw Lin Huashan rushing toward him, then flung herself into his arms, holding him tight.

Chen Hao was momentarily stunned, thinking how angry Ye Yuqiao would be if she knew.

"Chen Hao, it's so good to see you're safe!" Lin Huashan said within Chen Hao's embrace.

"How did you get in here too?"

"I saw you being pulled into the seal and jumped in after you."

Hearing Lin Huashan say this, Chen Hao was touched and asked, "Huashan, aren't you afraid you were coming to die?"

"No!" Lin Huashan's tone was very firm.

After they parted, Chen Hao began to take in his surroundings. They were in a forest, but it was not your typical forest.

Just like the clouds above, all the plants and even the mushrooms in this forest bore dust shimmering with golden light.

A thought struck Chen Hao: today, after soaking in the hot springs within that pool, his body was covered in dust.

"Could it be the dust from the hot spring comes from this place?" he muttered to himself.

He walked forward and snapped a branch from a nearby tree. At the moment of breaking, the branch disintegrated into countless dust particles.

This sight felt eerily familiar to him...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.